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DVD REVIEW 

Beatles Stories

Released on April 2011, by Julukesy Films
Directed and Produced by Seth Swirsky
Run Time: 85 minutes
Rating:

REVIEW

When I was sent a copy for review of this documentary, Beatles Stories, I wasn't really that excited about checking it out since I understood it was an entire film of interviews made with famous people who met the Beatles and what they had to say about hanging out with the Fabs. Although I've always been a big time Beatle's fan, these kinds of interviews were not something I figured I would find too much interest in. But after viewing the film, I must admit that this turned out to be totally different than what I was expecting. It was very interesting indeed.

Seth Swirsky, who conducted the interviews, grew up in the 1960s and was a fan of The Beatles. He decided to track down many different people who worked with the Beatles in the past  and see what kind of personal stories they might share with him about the Fabs. It took 8 years for him to film these many different stories with more than 110 individuals. The best part about this documentary is that almost all of the interviews are short and don't last too long, but all of them are interesting, with real down to earth stories told.

A few of those who were interviewed will not surprised you at all, like Graham Nash explaining how he got invited to be a part of the Beatles recording of "All You Need is Love", or Brian Wilson confirming that yes, he wrote the songs to the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds after spending time with Paul McCartney at a piano playing songs from the soon to be released Rubber Soul album. The Art Garfunkel interview is also very interesting and surprising when he talks about visiting with John Lennon at the Dakota in the 1970s and what John asked him about both of their former mates, who of cause were both named Paul. Then you would be surprised by some of the people who Swirsky did interview and what they had to say, including former first daughter Luci Baines Johnson, Indianapolis Colts football owner Jim Irsay, and others like actor Ben Kingsley. Frank Gifford tells an intresting tale about watching Ronald Reagan explaining to John Lennon how US  football was played, all while they were attending a Monday Night NFL Football game.

The only thing lacking about this documentary is there is no Beatles music in it, would have been nice if some songs were playing in the background at times. One would also have to be a fan of the Beatles to enjoy this film, no question, but if you are such a fan, this is a film that's better watched than read about in a review like this, so I do recommend that all Beatle fans check this movie out.

Keno, 2013

To order a copy in the UK click on:  Wienerworld Ltd.

To order a copy in the US, click on: Beatles Stories

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